


Juniper Bushes, Pyrrhically Aflame

by MercurialComet



Series: RWBY: MYRD [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst and Tragedy, Canon Compliant, Jaune Arc has a different Semblance, Multi, What if I fleshed out team JNPR more?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:53:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27213724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MercurialComet/pseuds/MercurialComet
Summary: The story of Team JNPR, throughout the first 3 volumes.
Relationships: Jaune Arc & Pyrrha Nikos, Jaune Arc & Pyrrha Nikos & Lie Ren & Nora Valkyrie, Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren & Nora Valkyrie
Series: RWBY: MYRD [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1984300
Kudos: 7





	1. Volume 1

**Author's Note:**

> My brain, at least 4 years ago: man it kinda sucks that Ren and Nora don't have their own emotional problems connect with Pyrrha's death. Especially considering that all of team JNPR is just emotional and confidence issues.
> 
> My brain, at least 4 years ago: eh, what can I do about it?
> 
> Me, now: eh, might as well try something.

“So, Jaune,” Pyrrha starts as they’re walking through the forest, “what’s your Semblance?”

Hhhhh, he really doesn’t like answering this question. Maybe if he plays dumb-

“Gesundheit?”

Pyrrha chuckles. “I didn’t sneeze, but thank you. Do you really not know your Semblance? Is your Aura even unlocked?”

“It is! I promise!” Jaune waved his hands around. “I just- I don’t like talking about it.”

“Oh. I see. Does it hurt you?”

Jaune rubs the back of his neck.  _ Man, for the best student here in the forest, she’s really naive. _ “No, it doesn’t,” he admits. “If you’re in danger, call for me.”

Pyrrha gives him a small smile, one that’s trusting, and it puts a small stone in Jaune’s stomach. “Of course!” The two of them continue walking, and as they go under a branch, Pyrrha glances back at him. “My Semblance is Polarity. Just so you know.”

“Oh.” Jaune blinks. “Nice to know. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said it really quietly,” Jaune says, not really sure why he’s so hung up on that. “I was busy thinking about the Pumpkin Pete’s Marshmallow Flakes box while pinned to the wall.”

There’s a long silence as Pyrrha takes that in.  _ Ah great Jaune, you’ve blown it- _ “That's fine,” Pyrrha says, the smile still there. “It’s nice to you, too. Again. Now”-she looked out towards the rest of the forest-”which way do you think we should go?”

* * *

Pyrrha notices Ren run past her towards the Deathstalker, and for a brief moment, she’s concerned about the apparent foolhardiness of a fellow student at Beacon. But then she spots the smaller details: Ren appears fully desaturated, a mix of greys that cause him to almost blend in with the bridge they’re on. The Deathstalker doesn’t even seem to notice him, still attacking a maniacally laughing Nora as she continues to launch grenades at it. The girl in pink only stops when Ren leaps onto the monster, climbing up it’s tail with surprising speed.

Pryyha quickly pulls her shield up and tanks a blow from one of the claws, sliding backwards. When she looks back up, she quickly aims and throws Miló, hitting one of the eyes as Ren unloads a clip at the base of the stinger from where he’s positioned himself.

With a screech of pain, the Grimm throws Ren away, and he lands somewhere behind it, with probably enough Aura to take the hit. Jaune yells, “Pyrrha! Shield!”, and she spots what he’s pointing out to her: the now weak connection between the tail and the stinger.

“Done!” It’s not a difficult throw, and she only really has to use her Semblance to have the shield return to her, but when it’s safely in her grasp, the Deathstalker has its own stinger embedded in its head.

“Nora! Nail it!”

Nora nods at Pyrrha, already running back to meet her. Pyrrha barely hears her call out, “Heads up!” before she has her shield up in time, launching Nora up into the air.

Honestly? Pyrrha is glad that she’s not the team leader of JNPR. Jaune seems rather trustworthy, especially with how quickly he was able to capitalize on the situation with the Deathstalker, and Nora and Ren seemed like skilled and trustworthy teammates in their own right.

It feels nice, not being put on another pedestal. She can’t wait to get to know her teammates better.

* * *

Oof. Nora may not have the… best sense of judgement, as Ren would say it, but maybe Jaune should work more on not rushing into fights if he’s just gonna get beat? Maybe they should work on that. It would help her out, and that would probably stop scaring Ren-

* * *

“So, there we were, in the middle of the night-”

Ren sighs and rolls his eyes. “It was day-”

“We were surrounded by Ursae-”

“They were Beowolves-”

“Dozens of them!” Nora thunders.

“Two of them.” Nora glances at him and the smile on her face nearly forces one from him. Nearly.

“But they were no match,” she continues, “and in the end, Ren and I took them down, and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa-skin rugs.”

Ren sighs again, looking down at the table to hide his smile. “She’s been having this recurring dream for a month now,” he explains, hiding the fact that it’s only been this specific version of the dream for a month. And that he doesn’t mind being involved in it. When he looks up, he sees Jaune giving everyone at the table a noticeably fake smile, and the obviousness of it is almost jarringly similar to-

“Jaune”-Pyrrha’s voice interrupts his thoughts-”Cardin has been picking on you since the first week of school.”

“Who? Cardin Winchester?” Jaune asks, as if no one at the table has eyes. “Nah, he just likes to mess around, y’know. Practical jokes.”

Ruby leans forward. “He’s a bully.”

“Oh please,” Jaune says as he shrugs his shoulders, “Name one time he’s ‘bullied’ me.”

“He knocked your books out your hands in an empty hallway.”

“He activated your shield to stop you from entering a classroom.”

“He literally got in trouble with Goodwitch for throwing you into a locker and sending you away from the school!”

Jaune’s quiet after the last example, and Ren is torn between actively studying the blind to make sure he’s alright, or turning away and allowing him to grieve in relative privacy.

Pyrrha doesn’t give him an option. “Jaune, you know if you ever need help, you can just ask.”

“Ooh!” Nora jumps up from her seat. “We can break his legs!”

Ren simply leans over, makes eye contact with his team leader, and nods.

* * *

“Uh-”  _ Come on Jaune, you know this. You’ve read so many books and historical documents, and a lot of them were about wars. The Battle at Fort Castle was a decisive victory because- _ “The advantage the Faunus had over the opposition was”-he spots Pyrrha pointing at her eyes-  _ Oh! _ -”night vision!”

Cardin’s abrasive laugh rang out through the classroom. “Figures the nerd gets it.”

“Mr. Winchester,” Professor Oobleck sighs, “do you have anything suitable to add to this intellectual discussion?”

“Well, I know it’s a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier-”

“You’re not the most open-minded of individuals, are you Cardin?” Pyrrha asks in a voice that’s honestly terrifying to Jaune.  _ She’s furious, like she was at lunch when she went over to chew him out for messing with Velvet _ .

“What? You got a problem with that?”

“No, I have something useful to add to the class. ”  _ Ouch, she knows exactly where to target him.  _ ”Many Faunus are known to have nearly perfect sight in the dark, around 96% of the general population.”

“General Legume was inexperienced and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep,” Blake says, giving him and Pyrrha a small nod. “His massive army was outmatched, and the general was captured.”

Professor Oobleck looked pleased as he sipped on his coffee.

Blake turns to face Cardin. “Perhaps if he paid attention in class, he wouldn’t have been remembered as such a failure.”

Cardin growls, nearly falling as he tries to stand up to defend himself.

“Mr. Winchester, please stay in your seat.”

Jaune giggles at the fact that for once, Cardin is in a worse position than he is before Oobleck is suddenly standing in front of him, looking somewhat disappointed. “You and Mr. Arc can both see me after class for further remarks.”

_ Great. Way to blow it, Arc. _

* * *

Pyrrha runs over to help Jaune up off the ground after Cardin pushed him. “You know, I really will break his legs.”

Jaune sighs, a sad noise as he visibly deflates, and the memory of Nora’s mumbling sparks an idea in Pyrrha’s brain. She grabs Jaune’s arm with one hand and her scroll with the other, already messaging the other two members of JNPR to meet them on the roof. “I have an idea! Come with me!”

If she ended up accidentally dragging him, she’ll feel guilty about it later.

* * *

“It doesn’t make you any different than the rest of us!” Pyrrha says, and Jaune just feels so horribly guilty looking at his teammates’ faces.

“Yeah!” Nora chimes in, slinging an arm around his shoulder. “You made it into Beacon! That’s pretty cool!”

Jaune gingerly removes her arm, stepping away from her. “That’s not- I don’t belong here.”

Ren and Pyrrha both have the same angry expressions on their face, as if Jaune is repeating words that someone else has told him. “That’s a terrible thing to say,” Pyrrha starts, and oh Grimm, the guilt is getting worse and worse and worse and-“of course you do-”

“No, I don’t!” Jaune says, and the rooftop is silent after he speaks. “I wasn’t really accepted into Beacon.”  _ And there’s the truth. Might as well pack my bags. _

For better or for worse, Ren’s face is blank. “What do you mean?”

“I mean: I didn’t go to some combat school, I didn’t pass any tests, I didn’t earn my spot at this academy!” Jaune clocks when the three finally get what he’s been trying to hide for so long. “I lied. I got my hands on some fake transcripts, and I lied.”

Pyrrha looks confused. Why is she confused? “But why?”

“Because this is what I always wanted to be!” Jaune says, tired of hearing himself speak. “My father, his father, and his grandfather, they were all heroes, warriors! I studied every book in my house for this, and I was just never good enough-”

“We can help you-”

Jaune pushes away Nora’s arm again. “I don’t want help! I don’t want to be the damsel-in-distress, I want to be the hero!”  _ Grimm, you sound like you’re 7 again- _ “I am tired of being the lovable idiot, stuck in the tree while his friends fight for their lives, only useful when-” he cut himself off.  _ Still want to keep that close to my chest. _ “Don’t you understand? If I can’t do this on my own”-his voice breaks-”then what good am I?”

He looks down at the roof. He doesn’t want to see the hurt and betrayal in his teammates- _ Are they even my teammates _ \- eyes. “Just- just leave me alone.”

“If that’s what you think is best,” Pyrrha says, her voice lower than he’s ever heard it. There are a few quiet protests from Nora, and Ren’s silence seems sadder, but all three of them leave the rooftop.

_ At least nothing else can go wrong- _

“Oh, Jaune…”

“Cardin!?”

* * *

Jaune and Ruby’s voice ring through the door. Pyrrha makes eye contact with Nora and Ren as they talk, and for a brief moment, she feels guilty enough to open the door before there’s the sound of a scroll beeping, and Cardin’s voice can be heard.

She sees pink again as she sits back down on her bed.

* * *

_ No. It’s Pyrrha. You can’t do this to her. She doesn’t deserve any of this- _

The sound of the glass smashing against Cardin’s armor is very satisfying for the five seconds he has until he’s pulled up into the air.

_ No. _

The flash of light and hollow ringing in the air disagree with him.  _ There’s no way I would’ve- Cardin just punched me! _

When Jaune regains his sense of stability, he spots Crocea Mors on the ground and quickly picks it up, opening the shield and running to where Cardin’s laid out next to a tree.  _ Please get there in time, please- _

As the Ursa’s claws bang against his shield, Jaune lets out a grunt and a sigh, shoving back against the Grimm. After a brief standoff, he hears the familiar sound of StormFlower’s rapid fire, and the Ursa backs off as the rest of team JNPR show up.

“You good, Jaune?” Nora asks as she circles in front of him, wielding her hammer. “Your Aura’s pretty low.”

“I’m fine,” Jaune says, panting as he fully stands up. “Someone needs to get Cardin-”

“Ren’s already got it,” Pyrrha tells him, appearing next to his side, Miló and Akoúo fully brandished. “His Semblance can hide him and Cardin from the Grimm.”

Jaune nods, focusing back on the Ursa.  _ Weak flanks. _ “Nora, hit it in the back of it’s knees!”

“Got it!” Nora cheers, launching herself past the monster before swiftly reversing herself, Magnhild delivering a blow marked with a strong  _ crunch. _

_ Soft belly. _ “Pyrrha, can you pierce the stomach?”

By the time the question is out of his mouth, the spear is already lodged there, and the Ursa is crippled, on the ground, and looking straight up at the sky.

_ Needs to be decisively killed. If possible, decapitation is the quickest -and therefore the safest- way. _ With a battle cry, Jaune runs forward, swinging at the part of the neck that didn’t have the white, boney armor. As his sword makes contact, he feels his shield get lifted up, and with a grunt, he and Pyrrha block a heavy blow together, right as his sword goes through the Ursa’s neck.

There’s a grunt behind him, and Jaune turns around to see Cardin just getting up. With a sigh, he walks over to the taller student.

“Holy crap, Jaune-”

“Don’t”-Jaune cuts him off, shaking his head-”mess with my team- my friends- ever again. Got it?”

There’s a long silence. Cardin barely nods. Jaune walks away, suddenly feeling very beat up and tired.

* * *

Nora follows Ren and Pyrrha up to the roof, where Jaune’s probably moping again- Bingo, there he is!

“No Cardin tonight?” Pyrrha asks, taking the lead and standing next to Jaune. “I thought you two were best buds?”

Nora gags and Ren sighs and shakes his head. As if he doesn’t feel the same about Cardin.

Jaune gives them all a small smile. “You guys, I’m sorry. I was a jerk. You were only trying to be nice and-” he stutters for a bit, and it’s kind of adorable-”I- I had all this stupid macho stuff in my head-”

“Jaune!” Nora rushes in for a hug. His body heat is somewhat comforting. “You big softie, it’s okay!”

“We really missed our leader,” Ren says, and Nora can tell he’s smiling.

There’s a long silence before Pyrrha clears her throat, and Nora begrudgingly lets go of Jaune before the redhead pushes him. “Hey!”

“Your stance is all wrong,” Pyrrha says, kindly yet firmly. “You need to be wider and lower to the ground.”

She helps him back up, and Nora feels like she’s about to explode into happiness as all four of them look at each other. “Let’s try that again”- Pyrrha falls back into her own stance-”shall we?”


	2. Volume 2

Ren groans after they’ve finished sliding down the wall, curling up to try and deal with lingering pain of a high speed turkey that went below the belt.

There are some voices, and after a few moments, he can definitely hear Nora’s concern, with maybe Pyrrha’s hand on his shoulder, and Jaune’s gasp of sympathy. _Concern._

“-hasn’t landed from wherever you sent her too,” the blonde is saying when Ren finds himself able to actually focus on what his teammates were saying. “Run and go get a cold compress or something. That’ll help with the pain-”

“On it!”

“Ren?” He opened his eyes to see both Jaune and Pyrrha in front of him. “Can you hear us?”

He simply nods, still feeling nauseous. Pyrrha lets out a sigh in relief. “That’s good,” she notes, holding up a finger. “Mind tracking my finger quickly?”

Sometime during Pyrrha and Jaune’s assessment of him, Nora comes back with a cold compress, which Ren gingerly took.

After a few minutes, when he felt comfortable enough to stand and walk, the rest of team JNPR helps him over to a table to sit down at.

“Thanks,” he whispers when he’s feeling well enough to talk without losing his breakfast. The grins that he gets back make him feel much better.

* * *

“Now,” Professor Goodwitch says, her no-nonsense tone ringing through the air, “as you’re all aware, the first-year dance is right around the corner, and as the host school for the Vytal Festival, tradition says that our best team act as hosts for it.”

The room shifts around a tiny bit, and Pyrrha can’t help but be a little bit excited about the dance. There’s going to be people there! Who she won’t be sparring against! No more “strongest student in Remnant”, at least for a night.

“The Headmaster has decided that the team with the highest collective grades will have the option to act as hosts, working with the staff to help plan the event, decorate the space, and greet others at the door for the first half hour,” Professor Goodwitch continues, looking down at her scroll. “I’m proud to announce that team JNPR has earned the highest grades this semester-”

“Yeah!” Yang shouts, pulling Jaune and Ren into a hug. Pyrrha chuckles at the sight before Nora excitedly hugs her, with the rest of team RWBY joining in quickly.

“And if they want to,” the professor continues after it’s quieter in the room, “can choose to act as the hosts. Mr. Arc?”

Jaune goes pale. “Uh, team meeting!”

“What’s this one about?” Nora asks as she slides back in between Ren and Jaune. “Are you panicking again?”

“Slightly.”

Pyrrha sighs. “Jaune,” she whispers, because there’s really no need to broadcast this conversation to everyone else. “what are you afraid about?”

Jaune takes in a deep breath, and just before he speaks, Ren places a hand over his mouth. “Jaune, we were able to help you with combat, Nora with her studies-”

“Hey, I’m not that scatterbrained-”

“Pyrrha would have accidentally eaten poisoned mushrooms twice without us, and that’s not even mentioning how we figured out about my Aura Sensing-”

Jaune hides his face in his hands. “But what if that’s all just lucky breaks?” he asks, voice muffled.

Pyrrha looks at Nora and Ren to see that both of them seem to be lost at what to do. “Jaune,” she starts, cautiously thinking about what to say next, “what if they weren’t?”

Jaune’s eye peeks out from the gap between his hands. “What do you mean?”

“What if we’re just a really good team who can help each other?”

His hands go down, and she can see that he’s trying to apply his more strategic thinking process to her question. “I mean, we have done pretty well so far-”

“Yeah!” Nora says, pumping her fist. “I mean, we made it this entire semester without breaking Cardin’s legs! We can totally handle a party!”

“We might need to do a few more study nights,” Ren says with a shrug, “but it should be fine.”

“It sounds like we all want to do it,” Pyrrha notes, lightly tapping Jaune on the shoulder. “Let’s try it anyway, what’s the worst that could go wrong?”

Jaune smiles. “Right. Let’s do it.”

* * *

Ren has no idea if he wants to murder Jaune, disappear, or awkwardly just kind of listen to the blond while he’s getting dressed since all he’s wearing right now is a towel.

Thank Grimm that Pyrrha’s out of the room right now. He and Nora are pretty close, so it’s not too awkward with her in her bed, reading a comic book with headphones on.

“-you are one of my best friends,” Jaune says, and Ren appreciates that. “I mean, we’ve only known each other for a few months, but darn it- I consider you to be the brother I never had!”

Ren can feel one of his eyebrows raise in his confusion. “I thought you had seven siblings?”

“They’re six sisters and one sibling- but that’s not the point!”

Oh. “And I you! I mean, as a brother.”

“Great,” Jaune sighs, and it looks like it’s one of relief?  _ He’s still nervous. _ “Which is why I wanted to get your advice on… girls?”

“Girls?” Ren asks, seeing his clothes hanging up in the closet next to where he’s sitting.

“I just… don’t know… how to… girls-” Ren silently grasps the sleeve of his coat and reaches for the hanger as the team leader keeps stumbling through his words. “Um, I guess what I’m asking is how did you and Nora-”

Ren drops the hanger on the ground in surprise, feeling his face grow hot. He’s pretty sure that if he made eye contact with Nora right now, she would probably say something about how he matched the pink highlight in his hair.

Nora’s laughter is a lot quieter than normal.  _ Embarrassment? _ “You know, we’re not actually together together-”

“Nora, I said headphones on!”

At this point, Ren decides it's best to give up all subtlety, standing up and going over to his dresser to grab everything he needs to get dressed. With practiced modesty, he’s quickly able to don everything, sitting back on the bed. “Jaune, what is this all about?”

“It’s- well-” Oh dear Grimm, Ren does not have the emotional intelligence to deal with this- “I want to ask Pyrrha to the dance, but I think that I’m already too late.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Are you kidding me? She’s Pyrrha. Best student at Beacon. People have to be lining up around the block to ask her out.”

“Has she said anything about going to the dance with somebody? I don’t remember her mentioning it during any of our meetings with the professors.”

“No, but come on”-this is a different sigh, definitely lower. Maybe it’s sadder? “If Pyrrha doesn’t get a date to the dance, I’ll wear a dress.”

“What’s this about wearing a dress?” Pyrrha asks, entering the room. “Sorry for being a bit late, Professor Oobleck was having some trouble with the shades of the banners.”

“That’s fine!” Nora says, headphones off. “Jaune was just saying that you-”

“Are a wonderful teammate, and person, and-” Jaune’s face was really, really red-”that there’s probably no need for you to worry about having a partner for the dance!”

Pyrrha smiles. “Oh. Thank you, Jaune. That’s nice to hear. I believe you’re a wonderful strategist, and I hope that you won’t be partnerless at the dance, too.”

Ren looks back and forth between the two of them.  _ A lot of nervousness. _

He does not have the emotional intelligence to deal with this.

* * *

Ren clinks his glass with Jaune and Ruby.

Ruby looks at what the blond’s wearing. “You got to wear sneakers with your dress?!”

Jaune sighs. “Nora tried to get me to wear heels. Pyrrha had to stop her.”

Ren saw a flash of red appear from the crowd on the dance floor.  _ Nervousness?  _ “I think Pyrrha’s trying to get your attention.”

“What?!” Jaune nearly dropped his glass of punch, Ruby quickly catching it. “Why?! We aren’t anywhere close to the group dance we planned out! I still can’t believe that she’s here alone! Has she even danced with anybody yet?! I can’t be her first dance-”

Ren sighs and catches Nora’s glance at them from across the floor. He awkwardly gestures at Jaune and she nods, a smile creeping onto her face.

Thank Deliight that Nora generally understands what he means.

* * *

_ Kick-step, kick-step, body-roll- _

Pyrrha saw a hint of a smile on Ren’s face as they went through the dance, and the elation at being successful with the choreography. Honestly, once he and Nora dissected it for her, it wasn’t that different from fighting!

And Jaune is also such a good dancer. It’s interesting to learn new things after being placed on a pedestal for so long. Pyrrha can’t help but smile at the thought of learning even more from her teammates.

* * *

Nora feels the adrenaline run through her veins as she slams Magnhild down onto a Grimm, and it feels so good to bash in these monster’s skulls.

“Nora!”

She quickly turns to see Ren dashing to her, Pyrrha and Jaune not far behind him. Jaune cups his hands around his mouth. “Launch Ren up to the whitehead!”

With a brief glance upwards, she quickly positions her hammer, and as soon as Ren took a step on it, she swung upwards, launching her greyed-out friend directly into the head of the pale snake, hearing a crunch as he hooked himself around it and stabbed it in its eyes.

The rest of the fight goes pretty smoothly, with Jaune keeping an eye out for all of them, herself swinging her hammer around joyfully, Pyrrha being a flexible fighting force, and Ren being the best Grimm fighter in their class thanks to his Semblance.

They’re a lean, mean, Grimm fighting machine! This is what Nora always dreamed about after her parents died. It’s perfect.

Nothing could ever stop this.


	3. Volume 3

“Are you sure it’s wise to have eaten before a fight?” Ren asks, and Nora glares at him. He _knows_ she was hungry. She’s almost always hungry!

Pyrrha smiles like the saint that she is. “Of course! It will give us energy-”

Nora is so upset that no one was ready to record the burp that she did. It was a monster! It should be treasured! It-

“Ughh”-Jaune faceplants onto the counter-”If I barf, I’m blaming you.”

The idea strikes Nora like a lightning bolt. “Oh! Aim it at the enemy!”

“Nora, that’s disgusting.” Nora looks over at her best friend. 3. 2. 1-”But if you do feel the urge…”

Jaune gives them all a thumbs up.

“So,” Ruby starts, patting Jaune on the back, “you think you guys are ready?”

Are they ready? “Of course!” Why wouldn’t they be? Nora points to Pyrrha. “We’ve got a world renowned fighter on our team,”-then to Ren-”what’s basically a ninja,”-herself-”I can bench five of me,”-to Jaune-”Jaune,”-her team leader glares at her-”we’ve trained all year, our weapons are awesome, Gylnda barely yells at us anymore, and uh…” She looks around the and spots Jaune sitting back up again, face flushed. “Jaune!”

“Are you gonna take that?”

Jaune sighs. “She’s kidding.”

Elation hits Nora like a truck. “He knows I’m kidding!” She shouts, leaping out of her chair and hugging him. “Anyway, don’t be so nervous, the worst that could happen is that we lose. Then it’s just a few more years of walking around school with everyone knowing we’re failures. Our friends will slowly abandon us to preserve their social status, we won’t be able to show our faces in class, no one will sit with us in the cafeteria, and Ren and I have no parents, so we have no home left to go to, and we’ll be officially renamed team LOSE-I-PER-”

A forcible wave of calmness interrupts her, and when she looks down at her hands, she sees that they’re grey. Now that she’s stopped rambling, she can feel everyone watching her, and Ren’s Semblance helps to even out her anxiety as his hand is on her shoulder. The two of them make eye contact, and Ren’s concern is obvious.

She taps her wrist. _I think I’m good. Just a few more moments._ She can hear Pyrrha sigh in relief as the top student gets up from her seat, helping Jaune up too. “We should be fine,” she says, and it’s in such a confident tone, Nora can actually believe her. “Don’t fret. It’s nice to be in a fight with actual guidelines and not… well, you know… murderers or Grimm.”

Some part of Nora screams that those are the fun fights. Another part of Nora agrees with Pyrrha. Ren removes his hand and suddenly there’s a lot of pent up energy raring to go. Good thing they fight next.

* * *

Professor Ozpin’s office is both almost too quiet and almost too homely. The smell of strong hot chocolate and the sight of strong, cold steel is subtly jarring to Pyrrha as she sits in front of the Headmaster. They’ve exchanged pleasantries at this point.

“Well,” Professor Ozpin says, continuing their conversation about the tournament, 

“it comes as no surprise that your team has chosen you to move on to the final round of the tournament. Your performance was exemplary.”

The praise is both familiar and a breath of fresh air. “Thank you, Professor Ozpin,” she says, politely smiling, “but I would have never made it this far without my teammates.”

“Personally, I think it’s the other way around.”

An ugly frown crosses her face before she makes it blank, turning around and standing up to try and be a little respectful to make up for any anger that may slip out. “I’m sorry,” she tells the man in grey leaning against the column, “but I don’t believe we’ve been introduced.”

The man looks over his canteen at her as if she’s annoying him. She partly hopes she is. “Name’s Qrow.”

There’s rustling behind her. “Qrow is a trusted colleague of mine.”

That somewhat quenches Pyrrha’s anger, although she expected her Headmaster to have more respectful company. Especially company that wouldn’t insult his students in front of him. She begrudgingly turns back around to face Professor Ozpin. “Professor, if you don’t mind me asking, why have you called me here?”

He’s still smiling. It feels fatherly. “Please, take a seat,” he says, and Pyrrha wasn’t even aware that she was still standing, promptly retaking her seat. “Ms. Nikos, what is your favorite fairy tale?”

“I’m… sorry?”

The Headmaster has leaned back in his chair. “Fairy tales, stories from your childhood. Surely you remember some of them.”

She does, but how is it so important? “Well, there’s ‘The Tale of The Two Brothers’, ‘The Shallow Sea’, ‘The Girl in the Tower’-”

“What about ‘The Story of the Seasons’?” Ozpin asks.

“Well, of course!” Pyrrha says, and for a moment, she can imagine her parents telling her the entire story: a callous old man, four travelling sisters, Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, granting incredible powers; the four maidens. “My mother loves that story.”

“Would you believe me if I told you that one’s been around since I was a boy?”

Pyrrha finds herself laughing at the man’s words. “You’re not _that_ old, Professor.”

The Headmaster’s demeanor changes, going from playful to serious. “What if,” he starts, his voice more serious now too, “I were to tell you that there were four maidens existing in this world, that could wield such tremendous power, without Dust?”

“You mean like a Semblance?”

There’s a fatherly smile on his face now. “Like Magic.”

Magic? That’s not real, it breaks the First Law of Soul and Energy, you need a power source to manipulate the world around. Her rifle used Combustion Dust in order to shoot, her Semblance used her Aura to manipulate metals she could see, Magic is said to not need anything, and that- “I-”

“Yeah,” the voice of Qrow cuts in, low and honest. She turns to face him. “First time hearing it’s pretty crazy.”

She turns back to face Professor Ozpin. “You’re _serious_?”

He doesn’t even look fazed. “Do I look like I’m joking?”

Pyrrha studies him for a bit longer. He doesn’t move an inch. “...No,” she admits,rubbing the back of her neck. Nothing makes sense now and that’s terrifying because if nothing makes sense then there’s nothing she can do to help keep control of the situation- “Why… why are you telling me this?”

Ozpin looks over her shoulder for a brief moment before making eye contact with her again. “We are telling you this, Pyrrha Nikos, because we believe that you are next in line to receive the Fall Maiden’s powers.”

Fall Maiden. Powers. Magic. Her. Pyrrha knows her shock is visible in her gasp, her wide eyes, her- wait- “‘We’?”

There’s the ding of the elevator, and Pyrrha quickly turns around in her chair, looking at Professor Goodwitch and Atlas' General Ironwood exit it. Ironwood straightens his tie. Professor Goodwitch fives her glasses. “Sorry we’re late,” the general says.

Pyrrha gets out of her chair, backing away from the four of them. “Wait, what is this?” she asks, watching as a small part of Professor Ozpin’s desk turns black and bends away from her for a brief moment before she brings her Semblance under control. “Who are you?”

“You know who we are,” Professor Goodwitch says, and Pyrrha almost relaxes at the reassuring tone. “We’re still the same teachers and Headmasters you met when you arrived at Beacon.”

“‘Cept we’ve got a little part time job.”

Ironwood sighs at the subtle way that Qrow slurs his words. “Ms. Nikos,” he says, respectfully nodding to her. Her! The General of Atlas nodded to her! “We are the protectors of this world.”

Ozpin took a sip from his mug. “And we need your help.”

_Mom? Dad? Is this what destiny is?_

* * *

Nora doesn’t need Ren’s Aura Sensing or whatever to know that Pyrrha is distracted by something. It’s obvious! She barely ate Ren’s pancakes this morning for breakfast, and this is the girl who practically prides herself on having huge hearty breakfasts that rival her own! It’s unacceptable!

Something must be done. Nora makes eye contact with Ren, who shakes his head at her. She continues staring at him. He’s still shaking his head. Her smile gets bigger. He sighs.

She dashes over to Pyrrha. “You heard the lady!” she crows, hearing Ren sigh again as the blender starts up. “No more moping around!”

“Huh-”

“We gotta keep your butt in shape for the big fight!” Nora continues, hoping that it was just a lack of exercise that had Pyrrha down. “It could be today! It could be tomorrow! It could be the most important fight of your life!”

Pyrrha looks amused. “I don’t think it’s going to be that important-”

“Nora does have a point,” Ren says, _finally_ on her side for once. “We’re all concerned for Yang, but she’s doing as well as she can and we know how strong she is.” Oh! He’s wearing the apron she got him as a gag gift for getting into Beacon! “Seeing that you’re now the last student of Beacon Academy, you’ll be upholding it’s honor.”

“Of course,” Pyrrha says, nodding. Her eyes move down to the glass that Ren’s holding in his hands. “What’s in the glass?”

“A blend of herbs and vegetables filled with nutrients vital to our body’s well-being, both mentally and physically. Nora still doesn’t believe me when I say that it’s more important how you eat than how you work out-”

“Because I actually get to enjoy my food and not drink something that looks like slime from a lake bed, Ren!” Nora snaps, getting up from her push-ups to lessen the height difference between the two of them.

Ren turns away from her, holding onto the stupid glass. “Algae contains numerous spectacular properties”-Out of the corner of her eye, Nora can see Pyrrha looking disgusted at the mention of algae-”See for yourself.”

“Fine!” Nora grabs the glass and takes a sip of it. It’s one of the worst things she’s ever eaten, and that’s saying something. She immediately dumps the rest of the glass into the wastebasket before running over to their bathroom to try and rinse out her mouth. Everyone in the room is quiet when she comes back out. “Ren? What is wrong with you?!”

“Me?!” Ren actually looks surprised. “You’re the one that wasted perfectly good juice-”

“We’re supposed to help Pyrrha, not poison her!”

“There was nothing wrong with that.”

Nora stares him down. He doesn’t budge. “It looked the same coming up as it did going down. There’s something wrong with it.”

“Hey guys!” Jaune leaps in between the two of them, blond hair almost bouncing with him. “How about we check out the booths at the Vytal Festival?”

* * *

Jaune frowns at the sight of Pyrrha sitting alone outside the dining hall. She looks so sad, and- well, like how he was earlier in the year. So, he tries his best to help her. “Hey.”

Pyrrha looks up at him and waves.

He holds out the large cone of cotton candy he bought. “I- It’s no green goop but I think it still might do some good.”

It takes a few moments, but Pyrrha accepts the treat. “Um, right,” she says, and Jaune’s worried about how quiet her voice is. “Thank you, Jaune.”

There’s a small commotion nearby, and Jaune looks over just in time to see Nora and Ren pulling each other behind the dining hall. giving him and Pyrrha some fresh air and space. Jaune sighs and takes a seat next to his partner. “You know, way back in the forest, you were the first person outside of my siblings to ever believe in me,” he says, casually, as if he was talking about the weather. “Even when I told my parents I was going to Beacon, they told me not to worry if I ended up having to move back home. How depressing is that?”

Pyrrha’s frowning. “I’m sure they didn’t mean-” She suddenly stops talking, and Jaune wonders why for a few moments before he realizes that he’s accidentally put his hand on hers. 

He quickly slides it away to make her less nervous. She slides it back under. “I guess,” he starts, scratching the back of his head, “I’m just trying to say that you’ve always been there for me, coming up with ideas and helping me get used to being a team leader, even when I didn’t deserve it.When I was acting like a brat. And I can tell there’s something on your mind, so…” he trails off.He’s not used to having these heavy talks. “I don’t know. How can I help?”

There’s a quiet moment where the two of them can faintly hear noises from the booths before Pyrrha just leans on his shoulder. “You’re already doing it,” she says with a smile, and Jaune matches it, glad to hear that he’s doing something positive. They stay like that for a while, breathing in the cool autumn air and simply existing. Jaune’s lost track of how many leaves have fallen when Pyhrra shifts and sits back up. “Jaune…”

“Hmm?”

She slides her hand out from under his. When he turns to face her, she’s looking away. “I don’t know what to do.”

Jaune hesitates a bit, not sure what to do here. “W- What do you mean?”

“Do-” Pyrrha pauses, looking up at the sky for a few moments. “Do you believe in destiny?”

Yeah, he definitely does not know what he’s doing. “Um… I don’t know,” he admits. “I guess that depends on how you view it.”

Pyrrha takes a deep breath before she starts talking. “When I grew up thinking about destiny, my parents and I always tried not to think about it as a predetermined fate you can’t escape. But rather… some sort of final goal, something you work towards your entire life.”

Wow. That’s how she sees the world? And she trusts him to lead her in battle? “Okay. Uh, yeah. I can see that, sure.”

“Well…” she starts, and its obvious that she’s trying to figure out what she’s saying while she’s saying it, “what would you do if something came along that you… never expected? Something that had the potential to stand between you and your destiny?”

Jaune’s heart plummeted. “Like what-”

“Or what if you could suddenly fulfill your destiny in an instant, but at the cost of who you were?!”

“Pyrrha,” he says, trying to place a hand on her shoulder, “you’re not making any sense.”

She shoves his hand away and stands up in one fluid motion. She looks like she’s about to cry. “None of it makes sense!” she shouts. “This isn’t how things were supposed to happen!”

Oh Deliight… Jaune gets up too, keeping his arms to his sides. “I’m sorry!” he says, even if he’s mostly sure that this has nothing to do with him. “Please, I’m just trying to understand what’s wrong.”

Pyrrha won’t look at him, and he wishes that he has Ren’s Aura Sensing. “I’ve always felt as though I was destined to become a Hunter,” she says, and that makes sense, “to protect the world… and it’s become increasingly clear to me that my feelings were right. But”-she finally looks at him, but she still won’t make eye contact-”I don’t know if I can do it.”

“Of course you can,” Jaune says without a second thought. “You’re Pyrrha Nikos! From what I know, you would ever back down from a challenge. And if you really believe it’s your destiny to save the world, you won’t let anything stand in your way.”

He says it all so confidently, because it’s true, and for a moment, he thinks that maye he hasn’t messed this up.

And then Pyrrha starts sobbing.

“Pyrrha?”

She turns away, her face still in her hands. She says something, but her voice is so quiet and muffled that he can’t make it out.

Jaune takes a step closer, holding one arm out for her to grab if she wants to. “Did I say something wrong?”

“STOP!”

Before he’s fully aware of what’s going on, he finds himself thrown against the side of the dining hall, his Aura Cloak saving him from the damage against his back. The same Aura Cloak that Pyrrha said it would be better for him to always have up, since he had so much Aura…

He makes eye contact with Pyrrha as they both realize what she’s done, her hand glowing black. “Jaune!” She lowers him gently to the ground. Jaune barely feels when he’s standing again. She’s crying. “I’m”-she’s backing up-”I’m so sorry.”

“Pyrrha, wait!” It’s too late. She’s already running away. Jaune sighs, looking back at where the two of them sat. The cotton candy is still there,with a few bites taken out of it. What happened? “What did I say?”

* * *

Everyone’s so worried. That’s all Ren can figure out.

Well, no. Ren has eyes. He can see how Nora is constantly looking between Jaune and Pyrrha, how Jaune is glancing at Pyrrha every few seconds, and how Pyrrha’s attention flickers between the fights and the blond next to her.

It makes him worried for all of them. But he has no idea how to even start untangling a web of emotions this entangled.

Sometimes, the residual calm of his Semblance is a nuisance.

* * *

“And her opponent will be… Pyrrha Nikos from Beacon!”

Nora jumps up and cups her hands together. “Come on, Pyrrha! Rip that Penny girl apart!”

* * *

Pyrrha stomps her foot, and Jaune watches in horror as the magnetized shockwave she produced took the few knives thrown at her and launched them back at Penny, who clutches her chest for a few moments before she's torn apart by the wires at the end of the knives. _A robot? But she has an Aura, that doesn’t make any sense-_

When the screens turn red, with a black chess queen the only symbol in them, he stands up and starts making his way to the actual arena. Nora and Ren follow him.

* * *

Pyrrha can only see her hands glowing black and the crackling body of her opponent as she tries to put her back together. This isn’t how it’s supposed to be! She’s supposed to be a Hunter! This was supposed to be a safe, regulated match! Why is Penny a robot?! How is she supposed to even be built?!

What is Pyrrha even doing anymore?! She doesn’t know how to work with machin-

She’s blown back with a strong force of wind, breaking her concentration. When she regains her bearings, she’s staring at a giant Nevermore, with a girl in a red hood in between her and it. “Ruby?”

There’s a certain kind of helplessness that fills Pyrrha as she watches other students deal with the Grimm, and it angers her. She’s been wallowing over a decision for so long, and it’s distracted her enough for her to be completely at the mercy of what she’s been training to protect people from her whole life! That’s not her destiny!

Jaune’s hand is in front of her, and she takes it, standing up. Miló and Akoúo̱ are in his hands, and as she takes them, she finally registers his voice. “-whoever was on that microphone, that black chess queen, they’re the ones that did this.”

“Someone was behind this?” Pyrrha hears herself asking, resituating her weapons. “Deliberately?”

Ren looks concerned, and after a few moments, Pyrrha notices that nearly everyone she makes eye contact with flinches or looks away. Nora nods.

Jaune places a hand on her shoulder. “Pyrrha, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Pyrrha says, looking up at the few Griffons in the sky. It seems like it barely takes a thought from her before all eight of Penny’s knives are in the monsters’ throats, their bodies plummeting to the ground. “Whoever is involved in this will not be fine.”

Pyrrha grabs the knives from out of the air as they float over to her and places them in her pouch, turning away and walking towards the nearest exit. She has a destiny to fulfill.

* * *

Nora is kinda nervous for Pyrrha as she follows her. The girl is running on autopilot, like Ren does when he simply just can’t emotionally function for a day. Except, Ren’s autopilot is less emotional, less charged, less active, than how Pyrrha moves right now.

Pyrrha moves like she’s stalking towards a threat that she’s deathly aware of, the metal floor of Amity Arena denting under her steps for a few moments before it glows black and fixes itself. Early on in the year, someone had said that the redhead was a one-woman army, and although it stung at the time, Nora can see exactly what they meant now. Pyrrha Nikos, the strongest first year student of Beacon Academy, her teammate, the most polite person that she knows, a girl who would apologize as she kicked your butt-

Was furious. She’s pissed off. And as she silently guides the point of her spear through the neck of a Beowolf, ignoring General Ironwood as he tries to get her attention, and simply waits on the dropship, Nora is glad that she isn’t pissed at them. The look in her eyes makes it seem that when she gets her hands on the person who did all this, she would gladly run around Beacon with their head on the end of her spear.

* * *

Pyrrha? _Angry._

Jaune? _Concerned._

Nora? _Anticipatory._

Himself? Who knows?

Ozpin?

 _Ozpin?_ Ren looks at his other two teammates as Pyrrha’s walk turns into a jog, heading towards the Headmaster.

Now they’re all confused. But they follow Pyrrha regardless.

* * *

Pyrrha can practically hear the hesitation of her teammates as they run through the corridor to where Amber and the pods are.

“What is this place?”

“It’s a type of vault,” she says, not caring about any need for secrecy right now.

“You’ve been here before?!”

“What would the school need to hide like this?”

Their footsteps stop at the sight of the Aura transfer machine. Professor Ozpin quickly starts typing on one of the keyboards. Pyrrha wastes no time, getting into the second pod as soon as it opens.

When it closes, there’s quiet. For the first time, Pyrrha realizes how tired she feels, how drained her Aura is. She can make out Nora and Ren watching the corridor as Jaune looks back and forth between her and Amber. Why isn’t he helping them?! Why-

The pain doesn’t even register at first. Then it becomes unbearable. Her eyes are closed, yet all she can see is yellow as Amber’s Aura is being forcibly shoved into her, giving her the Maiden powers-

There’s the sound of an arrow. There’s the feeling of having her heart pierced by it. And then she’s standing next to a very tired Jaune, who looks mortified at whatever just happened. She flexes her arm. There is no Maiden power. She looks back at the pods. Both of them have an arrow in them. Hers is empty. Amber’s heart is pierced by another.

Ozpin shoots the new Fall Maiden with something, and it’s enough to draw her attention so that team JNPR can get out and regroup.

* * *

They’re all in the elevator when Jaune decides to finally come clean. “When I was 10, I saw my sister die, and for a brief moment, she was.”

Ren and Nora give him looks of concern. Pyrrha’s eyes widen.

“For the longest time,” he continues, “I thought that I was just hallucinating it. That Sapphire would just one day not be there after getting struck by a fallen tree. But right after she was crushed, she was right next to me, and I was really, really tired.”

“So,” Pyrrha starts, “the arrow-”

“My Semblance is a False Martyr,” he admits, and the rest of JNPR listen to him, quietly. The only noise is that elevator itself and the residual shaking from whatever fight Ozpin is involved in. “You know how I always say to shout if you’re in trouble?”

Pyrrha’s eyes soften in realization. “It’s so that if you can see us die…”

“If I see someone take a killing blow, they don’t die. They appear right next to me, and all of the excess Aura I have goes to them.”

“Why-” Nora cuts herself off, tapping the wall behind her. “Why didn’t you tell us? If you’re okay about answering that.”

“I don’t want to be reliant on it,” Jaune says, clasping his hands together. “I don’t know if it works twice.”

* * *

Ren knows he can’t stop Pyrrha from shoving him in a locker. She has too much determination for him to stop her. She looks guilty as she does it, especially after having done it to Nora. And Jaune. After kissing the blond. There is a lot of emotion tonight, which was ironically something he was prepared for.

“Ren,” Pyrrha starts, just before she types in the code to send him away, “please keep an eye on them for me.”

What does he do here? He nods. “Stay safe, Pyrrha.”

It’s the simplest way he can beg for her to not throw herself at the woman in red, who is so _confident_ , so _smug_ , so full of power it makes him nauseous.

She gives him a sad smile. As he’s flying through the air, he’s trying his best to remain rooted in the present.

Pyrrha’s determination reminds him too much of his parents’.

* * *

Apparently, it’s an Argus tradition that the team of a fallen Hunter gets the Hunter’s equipment to repurpose and reuse. _For recycling destinies and making mortal bonds stronger,_ Pyrrha’s parents write to them.

For now, her armor resides in the package it came in, untouched, sitting at the bottom of Jaune’s bag. Maybe it’ll be fashioned into something later.


End file.
